FEBRUARY 1, 1943
FABL PLANS ANOTHER MONSTER WAR FUND PROGRAM
Conferences between FABL President Sam Belton and several owners continued over the past week but for a change they had little to do with the manpower situation. The group instead, concerned itself with the organization of a war effort program for the two Associations. Insofar as baseball's relationship to the Manpower Commission was concerned, Belton said all that need be said at the baseball writers dinner over the weekend.
Virtually charged by Freddie Farhat, Detroit World columnist, with dereliction of duty in failing to lobby Washington for the case of baseball being deemed an essential industry and exempt from the draft, Belton said he could not be placed in the position of looking for special consideration, and preferred to let the 60 million fans do the lobbying for the game, and for him. This left the case for baseball with the people. It does now seem certain that the 1943 season would get underway as advertised, and after being approved by the owners only unforeseen circumstances would result in anything short of the full 154 games being played. As for the manpower issues, Farhat's point was echoed by some in attendance -that Belton and the magnates should have pushed harder to limit the drafting of players- but with the sheer number of enlistments the game would have suffered from a player shortage even without Selective Service callups. However, an important announcement is anticipated next week from the War Manpower Board and it has the potential to have a catastrophic impact on the sport. Belton refused to speculate on the impending news from the WMB, saying baseball would follow whatever the government decided.
The meeting between Belton and the owners was focused almost exclusively on the topic of raising funds for the war effort, something Army Relief had said it would gladly accept. Navy and Air Force relief, did not comment but it was clear they too would be beneficiaries of the baseball program. Nothing official was released by the loop President, other than Belton saying the 16 clubs would be making major contributions to the war effort.
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
WOLVES IN THE WAR
Now that it appears the Wolves organization has settled to where they should be in 1943 plans must begin for the season. It appears that the Wolves will end up losing a total of 55 players to the war effort. The questions and answers that had been on all fans minds are as follows:
1: Where the Wolves hit hardest in the FABL? Although they lost an number of marquis FABL players, whose names do not have to mentioned, they were about middle of the road on losses, some teams lost more, other less than Toronto. Management's view down to manager Charlie Reed is that there is no sense crying over spilt milk make the best of what you have left for players.
2: What does the future hold? Everyone wants to know the answer to that question. The basic plan is to run all minor league teams at less than full rosters to both minimize travel costs and allow playing time for all. This maybe a chance to discover players that have been overlooked in the past due to the number of bodies on minor league teams. At the FABL level there will be a lot of experimentation when ST begins in Chattanooga, there will many players who have been languishing in Buffalo invited to Tennessee for a critical evaluation. Most teams in the system will be carrying less than 25 players. The shock of the hit to Toronto's elite prospects has opened the door for others to move up the system at an accelerated pace.
3: Will there be a decline in the quality of baseball? Of course there will be at the Major League level, with the number of star players, those on the cusp of being recognized as stars that have gone to serve their countries heeding a higher calling in their lives. At levels below the top the game maybe in better shape, players will be moved along to prove their abilities at higher levels instead of being caught in the numbers game. The Wolves have also contacted all their players to insure they are not thinking of enlisting but cannot predicted who will be drafted into the service. Toronto has also contacted a multitude of former players throughout Canada and the US about acting as unpaid scouts. This an attempt to find players who have matured later or been overlooked that are now playing on sandlots. Unpaid is a bit of a misnomer as commissions will be paid if the Wolves sign a player.
4: What about the 1943 draft? With early phase of the draft beginning this is an opportunity that youngsters may never have again, with the total number of players declining in the system these players will have a chance to display their talents earlier than previously drafted players. The fear in the back of everyone's mind is how draftees will not report and go off to serve in the conflict.
"BOYS ASKED MILLION QUESTIONS ON GAME," SAYS CLEAVES, BACK FROM HAWAIIAN TRIP
Jack Cleaves had just returned from a journey which took him from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to his home in Pittsburgh. He was tanned, he was overweight and he clearly had been enjoying himself. Most of all he was enthusiastic. Cleaves had something on his mind. He had concluded a job which truly had been a labor of love. He had volunteered to help the Red Cross during the winter months when he could get away from baseball. He had been sent to the islands in the Pacific. His work finished, now he was home; but he didn't think the job was finished until he had given out a message.
"The chief topic with the boys I saw in the Pacific is sports," he declared. "That's what they want to talk about - sports. They want sports news. They asked me a million questions on baseball. They wanted my impressions of the World Championship Series. They brought up the argument of who was better Lefty Allen or Rabbit Day. How good a hitter was Max Morris they asked? Could the Miners win next season without my brother? Their questions on baseball varied, depending on what part of the country they came from. They get a mimeographed sheet every day from OWI and they eat up the baseball, football and basketball scores."
*** THEY WANT THE SCRIPTURE OF SPORTS***
"Up in some military camp I saw a copy of This Week in Figment Baseball which had been passed around for a month. It had come to a fellow named Elmer Glick and certainly had gone the rounds. They just couldn't get more copies so they did the next best thing - they tried to make the one copy they had last as long and go as far as possible."
"Some fellow phoned me about that. He said he would be willing to handle a batch of copies of TWIFB if I could arrange to have them sent there. The best thing I could do was write Jiggs McGee, the editor, and put him on the job of attempting to see that those soldiers in the Pacific received the "Scripture of Sports," the paper they enjoyed so much.
"My general impression of the soldiers I saw is that, without a doubt, they are the best fed, got the best medical care and are in the greatest condition of any body of men in the world. My trip was sponsored by the Red Cross, which is doing a great job. Whenever there are men in service, the Red Cross has men to assist. When I arrived on the islands, the Red Cross turned me over to the Special Service Branch of the Army, and it was under it's jurisdiction that I made trips to various bases and military hospitals. My headquarters were at Honolulu.
- A major announcement is expected this week from the War Manpower Department, one which could have significant impact on professional sports including baseball. It is expected that for a number of occupations deemed 'non-essential' to the war effort all deferment requests - including ones previously granted to married men between 18 and 38 - will no longer apply. The worry for FABL magnates is will baseball be on the non-essential list? If so, it likely means that before Opening Day hundreds of married professional ballplayers who had previously been deferred, may find themselves drafted and in the Army by the end of April. There is a chance baseball, and other sports, are not placed on the non-essential list at this time, but it is also almost assured they will not be on the essential list either so the door could be open for deferments to be rescinded at any time.
- It is this refusal to pressure Washington to label baseball an "essential wartime industry' on the basis of what it does for the country's morale that caused several scribes, most notably Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World, to blast FABL President Sam Belton and the writers dinner over the weekend for his inaction on the matter.
- Belton, and all of baseball, are just in a very sticky situation and the FABL boss rightly points out how bad a position the game would be in should it push for special treatment. "I don't want a story coming out of Washington that would justify the inference that we are seeking any better treatment or exemptions from the conditions of war," explained Belton.
- Privately, the owners whisper that their hope is the general public, and baseball fans specifically, take up their cause and pressure The White House to allow the game to continue. However, the sport is rapidly running out of quality ball players. To date at all levels of professional baseball there are over 950 players now in the armed forces. Next week's announcement could cripple the sport, or provide it with a life line.
- The FABL rookie player draft is about to get underway. So time for another mock top five but this time around we are going with the Nickname edition
5- Bobby 'Spuddy' Ritter from Idaho of course
4- Bob 'Dustpan' Taylor a SS so I assume he is not quite a vacuum yet but getting there
3- Ralph 'Hamlet' Grant from Denmark, Wi -impressed any ballplayer would get the reference
2- Charlie K Johnson The Sing Sing Kid from Ossining, NY
#1 Monty 'Salt Water' Taaffe
INJURY TO QUINTANA DERAILS COYOTES
After winning 26 consecutive conference games and starting this season with 15 straight victories the City College of Los Angeles Coyotes have dropped 3 of their last 4 and their tournament hopes just might be jeopardy. It is no coincidence that the losing started in the game junior forward Joe Quintana -their leading scorer and an All-WCAA selection a year ago- went down with an injury after suffering what later was diagnosed as a broken jaw in the first half of their game with Coastal California. Without Quintana for the final 31 minutes of that contest the Coyotes fell 48-42. They did rebound with a win over Idaho A&M in their next game but lost twice this past week -to conference foes Redwood and Rainier College- and have slipped to 2-3 in WCAA play and sixth in the polls. The worry is Quintana could be sidelined up to another 3 weeks and CCLA might be just 2-9 in conference play at that point.
Meanwhile Coastal California and Rainier College are both 5-0 in WCAA play heading into a big showdown between the two schools in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Code:
AIAA TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Liberty College (44) 18-1 1771 3 Northeast Conference
2. Coastal California (28) 17-1 1755 2 West Coast Athletic Association
3. St. Ignatius 14-3 1648 10 Great Lakes Alliance
4. Detroit City College 14-3 1568 4 Great Lakes Alliance
5. North Carolina Tech 15-2 1452 7 South Atlantic Conference
6. CC Los Angeles 16-3 1449 1 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Great Plains State 22-3 1408 5 Independent
8. Chesapeake State 17-1 1294 8 South Atlantic Conference
9. Western Iowa 15-2 1224 9 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Rainier College 15-3 1108 14 West Coast Athletic Association
11. Central Ohio 15-3 1072 6 Great Lakes Alliance
12. St. Patrick's 16-3 1023 13 Northeast Conference
13. Brooklyn State 13-4 964 11 Northeast Conference
14. Carolina Poly 15-3 839 17 South Atlantic Conference
15. Alabama Baptist 16-2 782 16 Deep South Conference
16. Minnesota Tech 15-3 744 12 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Lane State 15-3 667 15 West Coast Athletic Association
18. St. Magnus 14-3 614 18 Great Lakes Alliance
19. Whitney College 12-5 479 24 Great Lakes Alliance
20. Annapolis Maritime 19-6 418 21 Independent
21. Elyria 17-4 370 20 Independent
22. Hamman 17-4 232 19 Independent
23. Garden State 11-7 209 22 Northeast Conference
24. St Andrews College 14-4 122 23 Deep South Conference
25. Chicago Poly 16-6 112 NR Independent
Others Receiving Votes:
Brooklyn Catholic 16-6 32 Independent
Gates University 13-4 21 California League
Rome State 17-7 7 Independent
Darnell State 13-5 7 Southwestern Alliance
Queen City 14-8 3 Independent
Central Kentucky 12-5 2 Deep South Conference
Northern California 9-9 2 West Coast Athletic Association
Lawrence State 14-5 2 Plains Athletic Association
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS AND OTHER MAJOR SCHOOLS
MONDAY JANUARY 25
#12 St Patrick's 45 Commonwealth Catholic 36
#21 Elyria 57 Eastern State 48
Western Florida 54 #23 Garden State 45
St Blane 42 Cesar Rodney 41
TUESDAY JANUARY 26
Texas Panhandle 51 #22 Hamman 46
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 27
#1 Liberty College 46 St Martin's College 38
#13 Brooklyn State 56 St Matthew's College 38
#23 Garden State 45 St Pancras 42
#24 St Andrew's College 51 Mississippi Tech 37
St Blane 47 Granville 44
THURSDAY JANUARY 28
#3 St Ignatius 70 #16 Minnesota Tech 59
#4 Detroit City College 53 #18 St Magnus 37
#5 North Carolina Tech 54 Alexandria 41
#9 Western Iowa 51 Indiana A&M 46
#14 Carolina Poly 44 Petersburg 29
#19 Whitney College 50 #11 Central Ohio 40
#20 Annapolis Maritime 43 Pueblo State 33
FRIDAY JANUARY 29
#2 Coastal California 46 Portland Tech 41
Redwood 50 #6 CC Los Angeles 39
#10 Rainier College 48 #17 Lane State 36
#21 Elyria 39 Orrville 30
SATURDAY JANUARY 30
#1 Liberty College 60 Commonwealth Catholic 36
#3 St Ignatius 65 #4 Detroit City College 52
#8 Chesapeake State 55 Cowpens State 42
#12 St Patrick's 48 #13 Brooklyn State 45
#14 Carolina Poly 74 Bulein 64
#15 Alabama Baptist 57 Baton Rogue State 30
#16 Minnesota Tech 59 Lincoln 46
#18 St Magnus 47 #11 Central Ohio 45
#19 Whitney College 50 #9 Western Iowa 46
#20 Annapolis Maritime 43 Jersey City Tech 28
#22 Hamman 44 Tallmadge State 34
#24 St Andrew's College 54 Georgia Baptist 42
#25 Chicago Poly 57 Strub College 51
Noble Jones College 45 Bayou State 44
SUNDAY JANUARY 31
#2 Coastal California 55 Idaho A&M 37
#10 Rainier College 45 #6 CC Los Angeles 37
#17 Lane State 48 Portland Tech 36
#21 Elyria 52 Centerville 42
For the second week in a row the Detroit City College Knights split their two conference games this week. On Thursday the Knights won at home, beating 18th ranked St Magnus 53-37. Roman Sollars again had a quiet game, scoring just 6 points for DCC but Andrew Bennett, with 16, and Adolph Duckworth, who added 14, picked up the slack. Three sport star Pat Chappell led the way for the visiting Vikings with a 14 point outing.
Saturday afternoon brought the Knights cross-state rivals from Lansing to the Motor City. Junior guard Norman Yates stole the show for the visitors as the St. Ignatius guard scored a career high 28 points as the Lancers opened an 11 point lead at the break and then coasted to a 65-52 victory. That win moved St Ignatius up to third in the polls, one spot ahead of Detroit City College. The good news for the Knights was that Roman Sollars got back on track with an 18 point showing. As for Yates and his 28 points, that was just 3 shy of the conference record co-held by Chris Davis of Central Ohio and Jeffrey Biles from Minnesota Tech.
St Ignatius is now 4-0 (14-3 overall) and alone atop the GLA standings with Western Iowa and St Magnus tied for second at 3-1. The 2-2 Knights are one of 4 teams at .500
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Knights head out on the road with stops in Milwaukee on Thursday at Wisconsin State (11-6) and a visit to Minneapolis on Saturday to face Minnesota Tech (15-3).
Wisconsin State would be the least successful team in the Great Lakes Alliance over the years, having made the year end National Tournament just once in their history. The last time the Brewers had a winning record in conference play was when they went 9-7 in 1930-31. Their top player this season is Kevin Campbell, a senior forward who is averaging 10.7 ppg.
Minnesota Tech is a school on the rise. The Lakers made the tournament last season with a 21-9 record, marking their first invite since 1912. They got off to a great start this season with 14 straight wins including victories over ranked opponents Annapolis Maritime and Great Plains State but they stumbled in GLA play with losses in each of their first 3 conference games. All three were ranked and the first two on the road as they lost to St Magnus and Western Iowa in the opening week before dropping their home opener 70-59 to St Ignatius last Thursday. The Lakers did get their first conference win of the season on Saturday when they dumped Lincoln College 59-46 in Springfield. Minnesota State is led by a pair of juniors, each averaging over 10 points per game, in forwards Thomas Cozart and Russell Geisler. Cozart was an All-GWA selection last season as a sophomore.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/31/1943
- President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, meeting in Casablanca, are believed to have laid out a master war plan for 1943 designed to bring about the "unconditional surrender" of Axis forces in Europe.
- The Russian military estimates that more than 40% of the Axis troops and equipment on the eastern front has been knocked out or badly smashed in the two month long Soviet winter offensive.
- On the 10th anniversary of the Nazi accession to power, Field Marshall Goering called on the 80 million people of Germany to sacrifice everything, including life, for the existence of the Reich.
- Nazis have arrested 40,000 in the harbor area of Marseilles, Mediterranean port of France, and moved them to a concentration camp because "many state enemies, including many Jews," were active in the district.
- Thieves escaped with gasoline rationing coupons calling for over 15 million gallons of gasoline after a break-in at a New York OPA office. There have been a number of reported thefts of ration books but this one was by far the largest.